Backendless vs. Bubble vs. Adalo: A Breakdown

While Backendless is a good low-code option, Bubble offers flexibility, and Adalo might be the easiest yet most powerful app builder on the market (although maybe we’re a little biased). 

Read on to learn more: 

• Key differences and features

• Similarities

• Backendless vs. Bubble vs. Adalo full reviews 

• How to pick the right platform for your needs

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Backendless vs. Bubble vs. Adalo: Key Differences

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Similarities 

While Backendless, Bubble, and Adalo are very different platforms, they share the following common aspects:

• Web app publishing: One similarity when comparing Bubble vs. Backendless vs. Adalo is that each platform lets you publish an app to the web. Users can access your web apps just as they would a website by finding it with their browser. 
  
  This means you can optimize your app for Google search just as you would a website, opening up the possibility of increased app traffic. 

• Flexibility: Although each platform differs drastically in learning curve and ease of use, all three are flexible enough to create nearly any app you need.
  
  Whether you want to make an internal business app for project management, CRM, or marketing or an external client-facing app like an ordering app for your cafe, all of these apps provide the necessary tools. 

• Thriving ecosystems: You won’t need to worry about getting stuck building your app, learning to use the more intricate features, or asking questions on a forum.
  
  Adalo, Backendless, and Bubble each have a thriving ecosystem packed with abundant resources to ensure your app-building journey is smooth.  

• Free versions: Want to get a feel for each platform’s building interface without paying any money?
  
  Try out the free versions offered by Adalo, Backendless, and Bubble, and make an educated choice about which platform works best for you. 

Backendless: Good for Technophiles

Who It’s Good For

Because Backendless is a low-code platform, it’s not designed for folks without technical experience. To use Backendless smoothly, you’ll need to know how to structure database schemas, how APIs work, and the logic behind coding languages. 

Ultimately, folks who don’t have any technical or coding experience will struggle with Backendless.  

Features 

• Backendless allows you to create all the major parts of your app: Your frontend, backend, and database. It leverages a simple drag-and-drop interface for accelerated and productive frontend building. 
  
  The need for expertise ramps up when you start constructing your backend, as the building interface relies on Backendless’s own coding language, Codeless. If you are familiar with programming, you’ll most likely love the seamless ease that Codeless brings. 

• While Backendless only has under 20 templates, each represents a different use case, such as ordering, specialized workflows, social media and communication, and much more.
  
  Grab some lines of code from Backendless’s JavaScript library or patch in your own, and create a customized app that looks much different than the template you started with.  

• In addition to web-app publishing, Backendless supports publishing in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
  
  The 2 app stores have a combined monthly user count of over 1 billion, providing you with an opportunity to take your app marketing to the next level. 
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Pricing 

You can start with Backendless for only $15/month (billed monthly). This plan allows you to send up to 500,000 push notifications with 100,000 data objects. To get more features, you’ll have to pay for each feature individually. 

For instance, 200,000 extra data objects cost an additional $10/month (billed monthly), and 50 data tables will run another $25/month (billed monthly). 

The more features you tack on, the more you’ll pay. With features running between $10 and $50 monthly, spending a few hundred dollars to use Backendless is not out of the question. Check out the Backendless website to see a complete list of the 20+ added features and their costs.

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Bubble: Good for Flexibility

Who It’s Good For

Bubble is a no-code web app builder known for its flexibility and customization options. While it doesn’t provide for publishing in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you can create nearly any web app you can imagine. 

All this power comes with some responsibility, however. While Bubble is indeed no-code and doesn’t require technical skills, the platform is very complex and takes several months to learn. You’ll need to dedicate a daily effort to learning Bubble if you want to reap its benefits.  

Features 

• Bubble has been on the app-building scene since 2012 — because of that, it’s grown into the most extensive ecosystem in the space.
  
  While the platform takes time to learn, you’ll find more than enough tutorials, videos, and help documents to guide you. 

• Another testament to Bubble’s battle-tested nature is the sheer number of templates and plugins available.
  
  ‍Over 1,000 templates and 3,000 plugins attest to Bubble's flexibility and power. 

• You’ll get access to Bubble’s API connector, which lets you transfer data from third-party APIs straight to your app.
  
  For instance, if you have an API for up-to-date stock market data, you can feature this data on your app via the API connection. 

Pricing 

Bubble starts at $32/month (billed monthly), providing you with the ability to create a branded, white-label app with 50GB of storage space and 2 days of version backups so you can still use that iterate from yesterday. 

The $132/month lets you bring on another editor, get up to 14 days of version history, and get access to advanced security features like 2-factor authentication so you can keep your data locked down. 

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Adalo: Best for Ease of Use and Power

Who It’s Good For

Adalo is a no-code native mobile app builder accessible to anyone, even the most staunch technophobe. It allows entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small and medium companies to create any app they need to help their businesses. 

Features 

• When comparing Adalo vs. Backendless vs. Bubble, Adalo features one of the most effortless learning curves — Adalo is intuitive enough to start building our app right after signing up.
  
  You won’t need any technical or coding skills to use Adalo. 

• Adalo has one of the most generous free versions compared to Backendless and Bubble. It lets you publish a web app with some integrations, like Stripe, for payments.
  
  This means you can release an app that takes customer payments — for free.   

• Adalo lets you use the same template to build an app for the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store. This feature makes publishing your app a breeze, as you won’t need to worry about making changes to your app for multiple platforms. 

Pricing 

Get Adalo for only $45/month (billed monthly). 

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Backendless vs. Bubble vs. Adalo: How to Choose

When selecting the platform you wish to choose, we suggest you use the following points for guidance:

1. Your level of technical expertise: If you have some programming experience and know your way around a database and API calls, you’ll most likely be skilled enough to use Backendless.
   
   However, if you don’t have experience with computers or tech, you’ll want to give Bubble and Adalo a shot. 

2. The amount of time you have to learn the platform: Many app-building platforms have a learning curve — Backendless and Bubble are no exceptions. Even if you bring a wealth of tech knowledge to Backendless, you’ll still need to get up to speed with the Codeless language. 
   
   While it’s a no-code app builder that doesn’t require any technical or coding knowledge, Bubble has a complex building interface with lots of moving parts, so it takes some time to learn. 
   
   If you’re pressed for time or just want a powerful and flexible app builder, Adalo is a wise choice. 

3. The need for app-store publishing: The Bubble platform doesn’t allow publishing on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store—it only builds web apps. So, you won’t be able to publish your app on these 2 super popular marketplaces for easy downloading.
   
   And since most people associate apps with app stores, they might think it's a bit strange that your app isn’t in one. 

4. Ability to tolerate rigid pricing: While Bubble and Backendless start at very affordable prices, $32/month and $15/month, costs dramatically increase if you need more features.
   
   As mentioned, Bubble’s next tier is $100 more than its entry-level one, and Backendless’s pay-per-feature model can add up. 
   
   Adalo, however, offers a more affordable second-tier plan, costing a mere $20/month more than the entry-level plan. 

Consider these four decision points when testing out the free versions each platform offers. If you’re having difficulties deciding between a platform, jot down each platform's pros, cons, and features that stand out the most and explain how they facilitate your app building. 

Doing this will give you a clear idea of what functionalities you need. Best of luck!

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Next Steps: Create Your App with Adalo

If you don’t have any tech experience and don’t want to spend several months learning a difficult app-building platform, go with Adalo. 

When you create an app with Adalo, you can customize its colors, structure, layout, and more to fit your tastes and brand. Adalo’s drag-and-drop interface provides loads of design freedom, making editing your app extremely easy. 

But Adalo also packs a mean punch of power. You’ll get integrations with 1,000s of third-party apps like QuickBooks, MailChimp, and more and access to a components library. Finish building your app and publish it to the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play store to hit the ground running. 

Build an app with Adalo today for free.‍